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A new lawsuit has been filed against the three white adults who were criminally charged after allegedly instigating a racially-motivated attack against four Black teenagers in Arkansas earlier this year.
Multiple videos that began circulating online in January showed the aftermath of a massive brawl involving more than a dozen people outside the Malys Entertainment Center in Conway. One video showed a white woman yelling racial slurs and obscenities after police arrived at the scene.
The incident ended in the arrests of 52-year-old Chucky Hartwick, 33-year-old Kelli Kennedy, and 62-year-old Michael Kennedy, who were all charged with misdemeanors and felonies. Police also identified two more adults who were at the scene of the fight — Stephanie Hartiwck and Cody Sutherland.
Those same five people are named defendants alongside Malys Entertainment Center in a complaint filed in Faulkner Circuit Court on Nov. 8.
The suit states that four Black teens visited the entertainment venue on Jan. 6 where they encountered the five adults outside. As the teens were preparing to enter the venue, the complaint states that Kelli Kennedy told one of them, “You should take your hands out your dick n— that’s kind of weird.”
As the teens questioned why Kennedy aimed her derogatory remark at them, the suit claims that Cody Sutherland got involved and told one teenager, “Say something else n—.”
The confrontation began to escalate to a physical altercation when Sutherland and Michael Kennedy pushed the teens, according to the suit. The complaint also states that Sutherland pulled one teenager’s pants down “almost to his knees.”
At that point, a Malys security guard intervened to break up the fight. While the guard was trying to de-escalate the situation, the adults continued to call the teens the N-word and then attacked them again, the suit states.
The complaint says the adults put one teenager in a headlock and grabbed another by the neck. Chuckie Hartwick also allegedly hit two teens with a pipe.
The suit also names “John and Jane Does 1-10” as defendants and claims these unknown individuals also took part in the brawl that resulted in the teenagers’ injuries.
The plaintiffs are demanding damages for civil rights violations. They allege that the five people who provoked the attack “willfully and wantonly engaged in extreme and outrageous conduct,” and “knew that their conduct would naturally and probably result in emotional distress and bodily harm and continued such conduct in reckless disregard of the consequences.”
The complaint also claims that Malys Entertainment Center did not provide adequate security to prevent the altercation from escalating and prevent the injuries the teens suffered.
“You advertise a fun, friendly family environment to everyone, and I think you’re supposed to live up to that,” Marcus Gardner Sr., the father of one plaintiff, said at a news conference. “You ask us for our hard-earned dollars to patronize your establishment. We do that with the expectation that our kids are going to be safe in your facility.”
Gardner Sr. spoke candidly about the state he found his on in after the brawl. “His mouth was all bloodied. And that’s all I saw. Every time he opened his mouth to speak, blood was just coming out.”
“The last thing you really expect when you let your kid go out the door is that they’re going to go somewhere where they’re going to have a ball of fun and get attacked by adults,” Christi McCloud, the mother of two of the plaintiffs, added.
The Malys Entertainment Center released a statement in January about the incident, saying their venue unequivocally condemns “the acts that took place and will not stand for any form of violence or racism towards our staff or patrons.”
According to the Faulkner County prosecutor’s office, the fight started after a group of adults leaving the entertainment center started mocking one Black teenager who had his hands tucked into his pants to keep warm.
The confrontation escalated to a fight that grew in size, with several people shoving, kicking, and punching each other. Authorities estimated that between 20 and 30 people were involved in the melee.
Even though people on both sides suffered some injuries, police records revealed that a 16-year-old Black teenager suffered severe lacerations on his lip that reportedly required 12 stitches.
Authorities charged Chuckie Hartwick was charged with one felony charge of battery and four felony counts of aggravated assault. Michael Kennedy was charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault.
Kelli Kennedy was charged with disorderly conduct and public intoxication and was also expected to be charged with assault and battery, according to police.
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